Posted on 03/04/2022 12:58:29 PM PST by Leaning Right
About three months ago my cell phone carrier (Tracfone) started sending me emails warning me that my 3G cell phone would soon stop working. Being the suspicious type, I thought this was probably just a gimmick to make me buy a new phone. Well, today I tried to use my cell phone and got a “service is no longer available” message.
I have four lines on my family plan, and none of us live near each other. We all have unlimited data, and all phones are covered by insurance. I pay $285 a month for everything. Part of that amount is paying for my daughter-in-law’s phone, so the monthly rate will go down in a couple of months once it’s paid for. I hate smart phones, don’t like the iPhone I bought all those years ago, and am hoping I die before I’m forced to update it.
A couple of years a go I ordered a new phone from them. When it came it wouldn't connect to activate. After many hours with multiple tech assistants using our other Tracfone , they sent me another phone.
Same drill. More hours with tech support (Burning up minutes on my other Tracfone (Which was connecting very well to the AT&T network just like my old Tracfone had.) Turns out that both new phones had been trying to connect to Verizon. There are no Verizon towers on the island or anywhere near here.
They sent me a new chip. When I opened the package, there was the familiar Verizon logo.
Back to the tech support hotline. This tech looked at something at his end and said. "Verizon doesn't cover your area". Never mind my response to that.
"We'll have to send you a new chip".
Two weeks later repeat the drill trying very hard not to raise my voice and apologizing in advance for swearing when, holding the new Verizon chip in my hand, I called and asked to speak to a manager.
Every time we played this game, 5 times actually with two different phones and three new chips, They had me go outside and wave the damned phone around to try to connect. Even though they KNEW it could not. They said they would send me a new phone....
It's been a year. No new phone, no refund.
I now have excellent service with GCI. It costs more, but it works...FWIW
“You could have easily confirmed this.”
I get phishing emails all the time. I copy the subjects and a few words into Google and the word “fraud” and they come up right away, sometimes with the same phone numbers to call or the same emails to respond to. Trouble is, sometimes they are real. I once got a call from someone identifying themselves as a Visa security rep, but she read me my visa card number and gave me my secret info. Then, she asked me if I was in Namibia. I said no. She said, “Cut your card up and I’ll send you another one.” (Someone had bought $14 worth of flowers. They do that to see if the card works.)
You’re a very generous person to pay for all those phones.
Redpocket has family plans too.
The amount of savings is phenomenal.
5G phones track everything especially you. The phones can talk to other devises. They can pass along information. They can better track you and those who are near you. 5G is not faster for you. Its faster for them. Those who want to know who you are. Where you have been. And who you hand with. 5G is China’s dream come true. But you have the CIA’s version.
“I guess it wasn’t a bluff after all... I thought this was probably just a gimmick to make me buy a new phone.”
No, it wasn’t a bluff.
Yes, it was a gimmick to make you buy a new phone.
Controlled obsolescence.
“If you’ve still using a 3G cell phone folks, prepare to say goodbye to it.”
I can’t believe you waited until your phone was actually dead before believing it was real. My carrier sent me a free android smartphone last fall. I cut over then. Works well.
> I can’t believe you waited until your phone was actually dead before believing it was real. <
Ha! I actually care very little about modern technology. I only use my cell phone two or three times a month.
I suppose I’ll get a replacement. But first I’ve got to clean my 8-track player.
Mintmobile is good also.
I’ve wondered why I am getting fewer scam calls today. I even checked to see if today was a holiday in India.
I sold my 8track recorder on ebay few months ago, along with my laserdisk player.
Soon I will start selling cassette decks and turntables probably
Yeah well I am not exactly an early adopter myself. I kept my old smartphone for 6 years or more because of the keyboard and it worked just fine.
8 track players had a great sound. The tape was wider and ran twice as fast. It was a step down to go to cassette. Just like it was a step down to go to compressed audio or mp3’s.
Yes, 3G is dead. I had my lil 3G slide phone for years and had to upgrade because of the dissolution of 3G.
GPS is separate from cell service. GPS receives position signals directly from the satellites, even when you have no cell service.
5G provides service to a larger number of people. The 3G network IS slower and the address portions of the messages prohibit expansion of the network.
What a rigamarole you went through. I’ve only had Verizon Wireless as my carrier, and I’ve been their customer for over 20 years. The main reason I stay with Verizon is their customer service. The fact that one of their reps sent me a $250 network booster for free to use with my crappy iPhone, convinced me I’d never get that kind of service from any of the other wireless companies. My oldest son had T-Mobile and AT&T, and dumped them because their customer service was so bad, and also, because whenever he called me from his home two hours away, we could barely hear each other. The only time he got good reception was when he was overseas. He sounded like he was in the next room when he called me from overseas. When he called me from his home, he sounded like he was in a tin can.
Well, after I die, they're on their own :)
Two tin cans and string will always work.
just damn!!
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